Terminally ill Army sergeant, who used military grit to meet pope, dies
Cheryl Tobin, a former master sergeant with the Army who used her military might to flag down the pope for a blessing, died in her sleep on New Year’s Eve. She was 48.
Terminally ill with a rare form of cancer, Tobin went on a pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi in May thanks to the generosity, prayers and assistance of many people who wanted to help her fulfill her dream.
Despite the fatigue that came from radiation treatments, chemotherapy and surgery, Tobin was able to climb the Holy Stairs on her knees, climb to the top of St Peter’s Basilica, and climb atop a plastic chair to wave hard and high above the crowds during Pope Francis’ general audience on 11th May 2015.
Her enthusiasm caught the guards’ attention and they let her pass the barricades to meet the pope and receive his blessing and embrace.
“I started crying when I saw him. I was overwhelmed with emotion,” she told Catholic News Service back in May, right after her memorable meeting.
Jim Tobin, Cheryl’s husband, alerted friends and supporters late on 31st December that Cheryl had passed away that morning.
She had been sick, he said in a group email, but after he cleaned and comforted her and gave her pain medication, ‘I kissed her and she was able to kiss me back in return and she seemed comfortable and at ease.’
‘I know she is watching us from above. She is now pain free and in a better place,’ he wrote, thanking everyone for all their prayers and support.
The funeral is to be held in Clarksville, Tennessee, on 6th January followed by a vehicle procession to Kentucky Veterans Cemetery 30 miles away in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, where she also was to receive military honours.
Picture: Pope Francis greets Cheryl Tobin, who had stage IV cancer, during his general audience at the Vatican on 11th May 2016. Tobin died in her sleep on New Year’s Eve. She was 48. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano).
Tags: Army, Assisi, cancer, Cheryl Tobin, Jim Tobin, master sergeant, military, Pope, Pope Francis, rome